


Stuck in place

by icky_icky



Category: The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: Fluff, Henry is oblivious, M/M, Slow Burn, TW:Drinking, Ted the hopeless Bisexual, day by day, intimacy issues, subtle angst, tedgens, tw:swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-03-29 12:33:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19020022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icky_icky/pseuds/icky_icky
Summary: Takes place while Ted, Emma, Paul, and Bill all take shelter at Professor Henry Hidgen's "palace". Ted struggles to face the facts and get close to someone who he's never met while Henry tries to come to terms with any fraction of affection shown towards him.





	1. Chapter 1

Ted was sitting alone at the bar, the other had gone to bed a while ago but Ted wasn’t keeping track. He wasn’t drunk, maybe a bit tipsy but far from being drunk. Ted knew if any of the other survivors were awake they’d make sure he was asleep too, not that he would mind but he preferred to make his own decisions. 

He was tired, he opted to sleep on the couch in Henry’s living room and let Paul and Emma share a room and let Bill have some time to himself. So Ted gave into his exhaustion and picked himself up and slowly wandered down the halls to the living room, at least to lay down. Sleeping was getting much harder with every passing night.  
He finally plopped down on the couch after getting stopped by Paul in the hallway, with a water in each hand, who tried to put on a happy smile for Ted, despite what was happening outside. 

Ted felt vacant, he had no one that he could call that might still be alive. Charlotte was the closest thing he had to a relationship but now she’s gone and yes Paul and Bill knew him but that was only from work and nothing more. Ted let out a quiet sigh and let his eyes drift close, feeling his thoughts wander. His thoughts stayed generally light probably due to the alcohol in his system.

He would also blame the alcohol for his thoughts leading to the one and only Professor Henry Hidgens. Sure he was a very peculiar man to say the least, but the thing that worried Ted the most was the fact that he hasn’t seen the professor in almost three days. Sure he’s been at the bar for most of the time but he hasn’t seen him getting food, hell, he doesn’t even know where the professor is. 

Henry’s ‘house’, or what Ted liked to call it his ‘castle’, was a maze of hallways and rooms not to mention the fact that it was a three story house. Not that ted was surprised about the size, being a biologist must have a decent salary. The last time the Ted remembered seeing Hidgens was when he dashed off to start working on that “blue shit” to find out what it was.

Finally it dawns on Ted that he actually feels worried about a man who almost shot him and he barely even knows. Ted takes a deep breath and tries to make himself relax again. He soon hears the gentle taps of raindrops against the roof which helps, he feels his eyelids droop and the last thing he remembers is thinking of that odd gray haired man and if he’s ok.


	2. 2 am coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ted wakes up way too early only to find Henry, a mug of coffee, and an awkward conversation waiting for him.

Ted wakes up with stiff neck and a sour taste in his mouth.

He checks his watch, 2:15 am. He curses at himself, he’s never awake this early. But still he forces himself to get up stretch out his muscles and drink some water. Ted can hear the rain still coming down outside. He looks over to the kitchen, which luckily isn’t too far away from his sleeping arrangement, and sees the lights on and wonders ‘who the hell is up this early?’. 

He rubs the sleep out of his eyes and lumbers over to the doorway only to see Henry, in the same black turtleneck and khakis he saw him in a few days ago, leaning on the counter with both his hands facing the coffee pot. Ted must have made a noise or walked a little too loud causing Henry to whip around and stare at him.  
“Oh my,” Henry mutters before taking a deep breath “good morning?”

It’s evident that Henry hasn't slept, or at least not as much as he should be sleeping, his eyes were marked with deep circles and bloodshot corneas. Ted can’t tell if he is relieved to see him or if he’s worried at his current state.

“I guess some people could say that,” Ted joked “but good morning to you too”

“I’m brewing a pot of coffee, if you’d like some” Henry replied looking back at the timer on the top of the machine.

“Uh” Ted thought for a moment, trying to remember what he came into the kitchen for “Sure, what’s the worst the could happen?”

“I’m afraid that’s already happening” Professor Hidgens said almost defeated. 

Ted could sense that by bringing up the current state of Hachetfeild was a poor decision and might have ruined any chance of having a normal conversation with Henry, not that he cared that much he kept telling himself. He puts his hand on his neck and audibly winced forgetting about the pain from sleeping on the couch. Ted looked back at Henry who was now looking over his shoulder and Ted with a furrowed brow.

“Are you alright?” Henry questioned

“Yeah, yeah,” Ted nodded as best he could without cringing, “sleeping on your couch must not agree with my neck I guess. Not to sound mean, but it’s not that bad”

“You’ve been sleeping on the couch?” Henry asked now fully facing Ted, “you know I have other rooms you could sleep in right?”

“Well I haven’t exactly seen you enough or at all to ask you” Ted shrugged “so I just settled for what was easy”  
At that moment the coffee pot beeped startling both of them. Henry then reached up into his cabinet pulling out two mugs.  
“Do you want milk? Or are you fine with just black?” asked Henry

“I’ll take some milk,” Ted answered “but I can get it don’t worry”

By the time Ted turned around from Henry’s fridge, Henry was already walking out with his mug.

“Wait” Ted said a bit abruptly

Henry turned already taking a sip of his coffee with a questioning look on his face. Ted found his mind blank underneath the stare of the older man. He tried to come up with his next sentence without him sounding like an idiot, not that Ted cared because that’s not what he does. Right?

“Well?” Henry asked sounding a bit impatient

“I’d just like to meet the man whos house I’m staying in while the world is ending around us” Ted said “or just where you’ve been since we got here”

“Oh” Henry looked surprised “I’ve been in my lab”

“Have you slept?” Ted asked

Henry raised his eyebrows and then furrowed them, which worried Ted because it’s clear that the professor doesn‘t even know that answer himself. Ted mentally kicks himself for worrying so much about him. He only realized he zoned out when the somewhat familiar deep calm voice brought him back to reality. 

“I believe I’ve slept here and there,” Henry said “I have been very busy, I won’t be able to figure out what that blue shit is unless I use my time wisely”

“Alright, but, we should really sleep.” Ted said, completely mesmerized by that rich voice but snapped out of it when he realized what he said “Not like together! Just like both of us are clearly tired and didn’t sleep enough!”

Ted stumbled over his explanation, feeling heat rise up into his face. He watched henry finish his coffee quickly before placing his mug in the sink and rinsing it quickly.

“I understood what you meant Ted don’t worry” Henry reassured, “you are right, you should get some sleep and while we’re both here I’ll show you to an actual room, sound good?”

“Yes please” Ted downed the rest of his coffee and followed Henry upstairs to a decently sized room with a bed clearly made for two people. “Thank you for this, for everything really”

“It’s really not a problem” Henry smiled placing a hand on the shorter mans shoulder “I have enough rooms and I’d rather you be comfortable in a bed then on my couch”

Henry patted Teds shoulder and walked away down the hall. Ted stood in place feeling dumbfounded and he didn’t know why. He walked into ‘his room’ and noticed a dresser, upon opening it he finds clothes. Finding a loose t shirt he changes and opts to not wear pants. 

He throws himself on the bed, realizing that this is a new mattress, he takes a deep breath and feels himself sinking into the blankets and pillows. He smiles to himself stupidly, even in the midst of the apocalypse someone cared enough about Ted to make sure he was comfortable. 

He started thinking about Henry again, wishing he would be ok and smart enough to give himself a break. He began to run through their little interaction in his head feeling his face heat up once more.

‘These are just stupid thoughts Ted’ he thought to himself ‘he’s just being kind because he’s polite that’s all and you know that’

He tried his best to push the thoughts out of his head once more and instead focused on relaxing in a real bed and not on an old couch. He felt his muscles relax and allowed himself to drift off to sleep to the thoughts of that deep soothing voice to snag the last bit of sleep he could get before the coffee he drank kicked in. 

_____________________________

Henry walked back down into his lab, to see the welcoming mess of test tubes and vials on each surface. He knew he was getting somewhere with figuring out what controlled these musical aliens, he’d just have to push through a little bit longer until then.

He remembered that interaction he just had with Ted, he seemed nervous and antsy which confused Henry, but he was proud for helping him find an actual room to sleep in. Maybe he would take his advice and make sure he slept at least a decent amount. He sighed and stretched cracking his back and neck getting ready to be in his lab for at least another couple hours. Henry couldn’t shake the warm feeling that crawled under his skin after talking to Ted, maybe it was because Ted actually seemed interested in talking to him. He brushed it off and tried to get back to focusing on his work.


	3. Ted tries to be charming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ted finds Henry on the couch and tries his best to interact with him. The next chapter will be Henry's POV

Henry felt himself dozing off, the all too familiar pull of sleep yanking him down. He pressed his hands over his eyes, taking a deep breath he felt his shoulders relax. Ted came into his thoughts, the man who insisted on him getting enough sleep. Ted was a kind man, from the short interaction. He caught himself thinking of the shorter man, he laughed a little to himself.

‘Maybe I should take a break’ Henry thought as he checked the clock ‘almost 7:00, I’ll start again at 8’

Figuring that he’d only be away from his lab for an hour, he should sleep as much as he could. Surely his work would remain untouched until he got back. Walking up his stairs he realized how exhausted and sore his muscles were, the need for sleep causing his to grab onto the railing just so he wouldn’t collapse. 

He opened the basement door and did his best letting his eyes adjust to the light. Seeing that no one was around he laid on his couch and  
____________

By the time Ted left his room the rain had cleared and the sun was already shining. Yeah, he’d been awake for a while but lacked the motivation to actually get up and be a person. Listening carefully, he heard the rest of the house downstairs talking, he slipped on his pants and quietly walked down the stairs. 

Rounding the corner he sees Henry passed out on his couch with his arm over his eyes. Ted smiles to himself, he finally took a break and got some rest. He felt his heart beat faster, Henry looked cute while he was asleep. Ted’s eyes went wide realizing what he actually thought, his stomach twisted and he felt his body temperature rise. It’s impossible for him to think that about a man who he barely knows or even spoke to.

Ted catches himself still staring at the older man, shaking his head he makes his way over to the kitchen trying to act as normally as he could. He’s greeted by Emma, Bill, and Paul each drinking coffee and eating some kind of breakfast. 

With a quick hello, Bill went back to his room saying something about a book and distractions. 

Paul and Emma remained in the kitchen, Ted walked past them and poured himself a cup of coffee.

“Looks like you and the Professor swapped places huh?” Paul said keeping the conversation light

“Oh uh” Ted hesitated, his mind caught up momentarily “he actually gave me a room to sleep in instead of that couch. I guess he was too tired to get upstairs”

“Sounds like him” Emma perked up “he’s normally very generous but he always overworks himself”

“Yeah I told him to sleep” Ted said recalling the previous conversation with him “I guess he took that advice”

Glancing over at the clock, 7:55, damn he’s been awake for a while. He looked back over at Henry on the couch, the man seemed to still be out cold. Ted went over the the cabinet and took out a mug, it had some weird molecule printed on it but he felt it fitting. He filled it with coffee and set it on the table in front of Henry’s couch. He thought it would be a nice thing to do considering he is working himself to exhaustion and no other reasons that Ted tried not to think of.

In that moment, Henry’s watch must have had an alarm because it started to beep. He began to stir eventually rubbing his eyes and blinking getting used to the light. Ted was frozen, he didn’t know what to do even though he was just doing something nice by giving him coffee he felt like a deer in headlights under the gaze of the gray haired professor.

“Is this for me?” Henry asked, breaking the silence 

Ted swallowed “Yeah, I uh figured you’d need it” Ted rushed

“Oh, thank you Ted” Henry smiled warmly taking the cup “I should really get back to work”

“Of course” Ted said “good luck with you know, your work and stuff”

Henry nodded and made his way down the hall. Ted turned back to the kitchen only to be caught under the stare’s of Emma and Paul, both brows were furrowed with confused looks on both their faces. 

“The fuck was that Ted?” Emma questioned, hushed just in case Hidgens was in earshot

“What do you mean?” Ted asked, pretending like he had no idea what Emma was referring to.

“That whole interaction” Emma explained “you acted like an idiot”

“Not true!” Ted claimed “Paul, you can back me up here right?”

“I’m afraid I cant Ted” Paul shrugged “I’m gonna side with Emma on this one, you acted nervous which is not like you at all”

“I’ve never seen you so skittish” Emma joked “what are you all hot and bothered?”

“What? No?” Ted stammered. Shit, no one in this house who would be stuck with him knew he wasn’t straight and this was not how he wanted anyone to find out. Especially when he was convinced he had zero feelings for the older man.

“Wow” Emma laughed “totally believable”

“Hey” Paul interjected “Go easy on him, we’re all stuck here together”

“Whatever” Ted tried to brush it off, feeling embarrassment settle in his stomach. He turned out of the kitchen, while Paul and Emma had their own conversation, and walked down the familiar hallway.

He ended up at the bar, alone. Yes it was only 8 in the morning but Ted had feelings to numb and no one was there to tell him to stop. He opened the cabinet taking out the bottle of bourbon, unscrewed the cap, leaned against the wall, and took a swig. Ted knew this was a poor coping mechanism, he knew this would not help but he didn’t want to think about Henry anymore for as long as he could. 

That smooth deep voice kept creeping back into his head with each drink he took from the bottle only causing him to drown out the thoughts with more alcohol. By the time he passed out he didn’t know what time it was, there were no windows and he didn’t bother checking his watch. Finally he's able to keep his mind away from the confusing thoughts that plagued his mind.


	4. Henry makes a breakthrough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry figures out a possible vaccine and fails to come to terms with his feelings

Henry woke up to the irritating and consistent beeping of his watch alarm. He stretched his arm out from over his face and rubbed his eyes due to the newfound brightness in the room. Realizing he slept on his couch he looked around only to see Ted placing a cup of coffee on the table. 

When he made eye contact, the younger male seemed to freeze in place which seemed odd to him at first but he blamed it on Ted being surprised and nothings more. However the one thing that confused Henry was the silence, so he decided to speak up.

“Is this for me?” Henry asked 

Ted swallowed “Yeah, I uh figured you’d need it” Ted rushed

“Oh, thank you Ted” Henry smiled warmly taking the cup “I should really get back to work”

“Of course” Ted said “good luck with you know, your work and stuff”

Henry smiled and looked down in the mug, black coffee just how he liked it. He made his way back down into his lab. Smiling to himself as he sat back down at his desk, it was amazing how he felt happy at a time such as this. 

He began to work on finding a possible cure for whatever it was that could kill them any day now. He would hate to see Emma become a horrible musical alien, as well as Ted and the rest of the people using his house for shelter. He hopes that he’s being a polite host, or as much of a host as one can be during the apocalypse. 

Henry tugs on a pair of blue latex gloves as he sets a microscope slide in place. He tries his best to stay focused but a certain man keeps coming up in his thoughts, he thinks about all their interactions, how he almost killed him with a shotgun, how they both made coffee for each other, how he cared if Ted was sleeping enough, and how Ted clearly cared if he was doing alright. He felt the all too familiar warmth crawl up his back, causing his stomach to drop and panic to set in.

“Good God” Henry said to himself in disbelief “No. I-I can’t do this”

It’s been years since he’s had any feelings towards someone like this, especially towards someone who he can lose in an instant. Henry stands up and paces around his lab trying to make sense of the mess, stress cleaning was a serious habit of his. He knew he couldn't get distracted right now especially so close to figuring something out about this virus.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

He pushed every thought out of his head with a frown, focusing solely on his work.He repeated this cycle for hours. He ended up making progress on a type of vaccine after discovering that the “blue shit” had a similar structure as a common sickness. 

Taking a deep breath of relief, he actually realized how hungry he was. He stands up on sore legs and cracks his knuckles, double checking the safety of his lab and making his way to the door. 

By the time he makes it up the stairs he can feel his stomach growl. He walks through the hall and into the living room to find Paul and Emma sitting on the couch. Emma smiles and Paul waved. 

“Hi Professor” Emma said “long time no see”

“Hi Emma” Henry replied “Where are the others?”

“Bill is taking a nap, I think, and Ted wandered off somewhere we haven’t seen him in a bit” Paul shrugged

“Oh, alright. Thank you Emma” Henry said making his way to the kitchen grabbing something to eat. He decided to keep his recent discovery to himself as to not get anyone’s hopes up. 

Leaving the kitchen he decides to go up to his room to change his clothes, he didn’t intentionally walk past the room he gave to ted however as he walked past the room he noticed that Ted wasn’t inside. It was only 6:00, maybe Ted was somewhere else. Catching himself thinking of Ted again he sighed and continued on to his room to change.

While in his room he looked over at a picture of him with his old college friends and feels the pull of guilt bring him down. He knows it wasn’t his fault they left him, but if only he was better maybe they would still be around.

“HOLY SHIT TED!” he hears Paul yell from the floor below him.

His adrenaline kicks up and he practically runs out of his room and down the stairs. Hearing the three others talking from down the hall, he sprints in that direction. He finds them all in the bar, seeing them all around the wall behind the bar itself he starts to panic. 

Pushing them out of the way he sees Ted, with an empty bottle of bourbon next to him. His head is lolled over, he reeks of alcohol, and his arms fell limp against his sides.

“Good God” Henry says, picking Ted up bringing him up to his room trying to ignore the itch under his skin.


	5. Ted gets help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ted finds himself in a bed, unsure of how he got there. Henry's there to help.
> 
> (next chapter will be more exciting)

Ted wakes up in his room, his head was throbbing and his limbs felt heavy. The blinds were drawn and we was still in the clothes he was wearing before. He turns over to be met with Henry sleeping in a chair which was clearly moved over to his side of the bed. 

This was odd, shouldn’t he be in his lab working on a cure? Ted decided not to think through his drunken haze and just let things be how they are, what was he supposed to do about it the world was ending around him.

The lamp was switched on at the side of the bed, casting a warm glow around Hidgens. The light illuminated the soft curve of the professors features and strong jawline. Ted felt his eyes strain as he continued gazing at the older man, groaning he reached over trying to find the switch to turn it off.

Ted stopped when he heard Henry stir in his seat, but continued when he assumed Henry fell back asleep. With the lights switched off he realized how dark it actually was in the room, but his eyes could finally adjust and he could slip into his fuzzy drunken thoughts. 

It started with ‘how did I get here?’ Ted figured someone brought him and that someone was sleeping next to him in a chair. He felt guilty having the professor see him at his worst, but thankful that he cared enough to take care of him.

Next thought ‘why did Henry care about me?’ Ted felt heat pool in his stomach. Sure his past “relationship” with Charlotte was nice, but he knew there were never many feelings attached. All sad thoughts aside, this was the most attention and care he’d ever received from someone in years. It felt nice to have someone look after him. 

There was so much that he didn’t know about Henry but he was determined to change that, if he could only talk to him more than he has. Ted looked back over at Henry now that his eyes adjusted to the dark. The dark circles under his eyes had faded slightly, Ted smiled at him feeling his heartbeat speed up. All he can think through his jumbled thoughts ‘Henry is pretty’. 

Of course Ted will never admit it but he’s stopped caring about who he is and how he is, and even though he’s in a drunken stupor he feels a weight lift off his chest. At this point he may be one of the last few people left in Hatchetfeild, so there was no real point in him hiding away. 

He took a deep breath in feeling his limbs give into the weight and him fall back into a dreamless sleep.  
_____________________________

Henry woke up to the sun streaming in through the small crack in the blinds. He looks over to the bed to see Ted curled in on himself seemingly fast asleep. A certain calmness fell over him. Ted was ok, he was ok, despite all the horrors happening outside. He’s found a path to a cure to help them all, to save them. 

Standing up he goes to open the blinds to help wake up Ted. After doing so, he walks back over to the bed and sets a hand on Ted shoulder. He hears a small groan and watches Ted open his eyes and squint up at him.

“Good morning” he says with a smile, earning a groan from Ted “How about we get you up?”

“Mm” Ted responded, reluctantly sitting up to the side of the bed “head hurts’

“I know” Henry sighed, at least that was progress

“Shit” Ted muttered as he stumbled into Henry, who caught him of course.

“Hey hey hey you’re alright,” Henry soothed “let’s get you in a shower so you don’t smell like booze ok?”

“Yes please” Ted said, hanging onto Henry’s arm in order to walk with him.

After Hidgens walked ted to the bathroom, turned on the shower and left Ted, he made sure to bring Ted spare clothes and water. He made sure that Ted ate something substantial, but noticed certain hesitation with Ted, almost as if he was anxious to talk to him.

“Hey” Ted cleared his throat “Why have you been, you know, taking care of me? I’ve hardly even met you and I really don't deserve it”

“Well Ted” Henry said carefully picking out his words, “sometimes when the world is going to shit, you need someone to talk to. You are that someone to me”

“Oh” Ted didn’t know how to respond, “thank you Henry”

“How about this, today you can join me in my lab” Henry smiled

“Don’t you have like,” Ted made a vague gesture with his hands “work to do? I wouldn't want to be in the way”

“Well, yes. However I’d like you to join me” Henry said. He wanted to make sure ted wouldn’t cause any more damage to himself, and he would enjoy the company of Ted while he works on his cure. Maybe he’ll regret this, maybe ted will turn out to be a distraction, at this point Henry didn't care and he enjoyed the presence of the younger man.


End file.
